An Industrial Saga
1879
The first cigarette paper workshop is opened in Paris. They buy rolls of paper and make booklets of cigarette papers out of them.
1882
Production is relocated and modernised. Soon a factory dedicated to cigarette paper production is needed.
1891
The new factory is built in the north of Paris and runs 2 paper machines. It uses water from the Seine.
1894
First use of the patent process of interleaving papers in a cigarette paper booklet. The ZIG-ZAG brand is born and the Zouave appears on the booklets.
1896
A third paper machine is brought in, then a 4th in 1900 and a 5th in 1908.
1913
A further factory is built in Rouen. It will be replaced by the factory in Angers. A second paper mill is built with 2 machines in Saint-Aubin in Seine Maritime. It ends up not opening as the world goes to war.
1919
The factory in Saint-Aubin moves to the Alps, in Thonon. It benefits from the pure waters from Evian to make paper, and also the hydraulic power of the mountain water. To this day, ZIG-ZAG paper is produced on the banks of Lake Leman.
1946
Introduction of a new design for the Zouave. More modern and stylised, he looks a lot like today’s version.
1956
Gradually, the production of booklets is transferred to Perpignan in the south of France (Pyrénées-Orientales), where ZIG-ZAG products are currently made.
1964
Invention of a new interleaving machine, using 50 reels at once.
1972
New water purification plant. Ecology and ZIG-ZAG have gone hand in hand for a long time.
1979
It’s ZIG-ZAG’s and the Braunstein company’s 100th birthday, and the arrival of the first office computers
1986
The company moves from the town centre to the outskirts of Perpignan.
2006
The premises are expanded to increase production capacity.
Who is the Zouave ?
The Zouave is the symbol of the ZIG-ZAG brand. Where does this symbol come from ?
The Zouave is the symbol of the ZIG-ZAG brand. Where does this symbol come from ?
Zouaves are soldiers from a special infantry regiment, some of whom distinguished themselves brilliantly. During the Crimean war (1853-1856), Zouaves climbed up rocky cliffs to take the enemy by surprise, seize their artillery and turn it against them!
According to the legend, during the Battle of Sebastopol, a Zouave had his pipe broken by a flying bullet. He was the first to think of rolling his tobacco using the paper of his guns powder bag, and thereby invented the first cigarette rolling paper!
That’s why the Zouave has been the symbol of ZIG-ZAG papers for over a hundred years, a tribute to this ingenious soldier.
A revolutionary invention
In 1894 the Braunstein brothers invented the modern rolling paper pack with their “interleaving” process. The leaves are folded in two and slotted into each other. From then on, the paper is protected in a case and when a leaf is pulled out, the next one comes up systematically.
This was the first so-called “automatic” booklet! At the time it was a revolution, compared to flat packs or papers piled together like pages in a book.
This invention was patented. The process was so successful that the Braunstein brothers called their product “ZIG-ZAG”, after the Z shape of the interleaved papers.
The birth of ZIG-ZAG
The process was so successful that the Braunstein brothers called their product “ZIG-ZAG”, after the Z shape of the interleaved papers. Today almost all rolling papers are interleaved.
In 1900, ZIG-ZAG was awarded a gold medal at the Universal Exposition in Paris. That year also saw the birth of modern cinema next to the famous Eiffel Tower.
The trademark was registered in 1906 and became known worldwide and protected in virtually all countries worldwide.
